The present invention relates to cable connectors and, more particularly, to cable connectors of the type used for electrical cables in the mining industry, which have insulators.
Heavy electrical cables are commonly used in the mining industry for powering equipment. Such cables are connected together by cable couplers or connectors. These are used in pairs, one coupler having a plurality of sockets which receive a plurality of plugs in a second coupler. The couplers may be mounted on skids so they can be pulled about the job site by means of the attached cables.
The plugs and sockets, both of which comprise elongated conductors, are usually surrounded by an insulator, typically having a cylindrical opening surrounding each of the conductors. These insulators are subject to failure due to accident or environmental conditions. This can lead to arcing across adjacent conductors or between one or more conductors and ground. An example of such a mining coupler is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,453 (“the '453 Patent”).
Mining couplers are adapted from other electrical market products. The mining industry has unique requirements, such as: dragging the “plug and play” connections protected by metal sleds behind equipment, quick and reliable connect and disconnect, high environmental contamination and must operate near the rated current/power levels. These requirements differ from many electric utility applications such as underground residential distribution (URD). Electric utility market models of “plug and play” designs for applications such as underground residential distribution generally do not see full current loading, are in relatively clean environments and the mechanical duty requirements are relatively low compared to mining Many of the harsh service environment requirements in mining are met by protecting the electrical connector through the use of a metallic case.